Court Rulings
Insufficient Basis Found to File Late Tort Claim Notice in COVID-Related Death
Plaintiff’s deceased husband Bernard Waddell contracted COVID-19 in March 2020 while he was working as a Corrections Officer at the Hudson County Correctional Center. He died from viral pneumonia secondary to COVID-19 on April 1, 2020. Plaintiff, Sheliah Waddell, Bernard’s wife filed a Notice of Tort Claim in November 2020 and thereafter filed a motion […]
No Requirement to Provide Comparative Analysis of Injuries Suffered in Two Different Accidents When Plaintiff Did Not Plead Aggravation of Injuries
Plaintiff Jeffrey Wichot sued Defendant for emotional injuries suffered from a car kidnapping that occurred in 2012. Plaintiff had previously suffered a horrific injury as a young boy in 2002 which resulted in a traumatic brain injury. One of the issues in Wichot v. Allstate N.J. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub. […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses to Extend the Rescue Doctrine to Include Rescue of Animal
By: Erika Vasant, Law ClerkEditor: Betsy G. Ramos, Esq. In July of 2017, plaintiff Ann Samolyk injured herself when she jumped in a canal in an effort to save her neighbor defendant’s dog from drowning. In doing so, she alleged that she sustained neurological and cognitive injuries when rescuing the dog. The issue in the […]
Court Finds That Plaintiff’s Notice Of Claim Substantially Complied With The Notice Requirements Of The Tort Claims Act
Plaintiff, a Rutgers Police Department Officer, was injured on July 12, 2018 when attacked by an individual attempting to be restrained by City of Newark Police officers. Plaintiff alleges to have suffered serious injuries and was determined to be permanently disabled and unable to perform her duties as a Rutgers Police Officer. In Peart v. […]
Appellate Division Finds that Constructive Notice an Issue for Fall on Clear Liquid Near Store Checkout Counter
Plaintiff Shirley Broadnax suffered injuries when she slipped and fell on clear liquid on the floor at a supermarket owned by the defendant AJS Supermarkets. The trial judge had granted summary judgment to the defendant on the basis that the Plaintiff failed to show that the defendant had actual or constructive notice of the “dangerous […]
Appellate Division Upholds Defense Jury Verdict Against Plaintiff For Trip Over A Curb
Plaintiff Angela Lash tripped over a curb while stepping onto a sidewalk at defendants’ car wash. As a result, she broke her leg. The issue in Lash v. Ultimate Hand Car Wash and Detail Center, LLC and Carpel Rt. 46 Associates, LLC, 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub LEXIS 2601 (App. Div. November 5, 2021), was whether […]
United States Supreme Court Reaffirms the Defense of Qualified Immunity as Applied in Constitutional Excessive Force Cases
The United States Supreme Court has taken two opportunities to reaffirm the use of the defense of qualified immunity as applied to police officers who have been sued for civil rights violations pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On October 18, 2021, the Court rendered decisions in City of Tahlequah v. Bond, 2021 U.S. LEXIS […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Holds that Multiple Documents Cannot be Used to Establish Compliance with the Notice Requirements of the Tort Claims Act
By: Sean P. Dugan, Law ClerkEditor: Betsy G. Ramos, Esq. On June 13, 2017, Plaintiff H.C. Equities served the County of Union and Union County Improvement Authority a “Notice of Tort Claim” for “damages arising from tortious interference with contract … conspiracy, defamation and trade libel.” The claim arose out of a contract dispute where […]
New Jersey Appellate Division Reverses Trial Court’s Dismissal with Prejudice of Lawsuit Due to Failure to Answer Interrogatories
Plaintiff Alexa Rivera, on her on behalf and on behalf of her minor children, filed a lawsuit due to injuries they suffered in an automobile accident in 2018 when her disabled vehicle was struck by a Mack truck owned by defendant Campbell’s Auto Express (“Campbell’s”). She filed a lawsuit, suing the driver, Donald Ayusa and […]
Appellate Division Issues Ruling Explaining Distinction Between Motions for Reconsideration of an Interlocutory Order Versus a Final Order
In the published Appellate Division decision of Lawson v. Dewar, 2021 N.J. Super. LEXIS 69 (App. Div. May 27, 2021), the Court addressed the “commonly misunderstood distinctions” between motions seeking reconsideration of final orders and motions seeking reconsideration of interlocutory orders. This case concerns a complaint by the plaintiff Alfred Lawson against the Borough of […]
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